Control for punch press



J1me 1956 w. c. EWALDS ON ET AL 2,748,864

CONTROL FOR PUNCH PRESS Filed Sept. 4, 1953 lNl/E/VTORS n! C. [ML DSON A. A. WILLIAMS ArroRh/ United States Patent CONTROL FOR PUNCH PRESS Waldemar CJEwaldson, Millington, *arldAlfr'eQA. Williams, Plainfield, N. J., assignors to Western Electric l Companyplncorporated, New Yrk,-=N.-Y., a corporafttion .of New York Application September 4, 1953, Serial No; 378,478

S-Claims. (Cli 164 -11-1) 'This invention' relates to controls forpresses' and'particul-arly to controls forturret type punch presses.

"The commercially known' turret type p'un ch' presses, having turrets "mounted on aligned axes for supporting *spacedsets ofpunch and die units adaptedto-bemoved singly into operating position in alignment with theramof the press,-are' provided with locking mechanisms includxing t-apered pins receivable in tapered recesses inthe tur- -"rets'-to lock"the turrets with the selected "set ofpunch'and die' in the operating position.

ifthetaperedpins are driven all the way hornein their '-'recesses, the turrets -will be locked not" only' against rotai ti'on but in positions whereby the chosen set'o'fpunchand i diewill be positioned accurately in the'operating position. lt'has been found" that defective punching-operations are ithe'lres'ult of the operator failing to move thelockin'g'pins '-far--enou"gh into their recesses toaccomplish accurate positioning of the turrets particularly the chosen punch and dies'et-Wi'th respect'to the ram or the press.

'Thepbject of the invention is a controlfor' a press of this type" to *maintainthe press against operation until thezlatching of locking meatis hasbeen' operatedto'assure "accurate loc'king of the turrets.

With 'thiS and other "objects in View, the invention corn- -prises a 'contr'ol fora press havingpurich anddieturrets movable in selective sets into theiroperating'position where theselected punch -is positioned 1 for actuation by "a'r-am-un'denthe control "of a clutch Teleasing -rod,"and tapered-latch pins receivable in similarly tapered recesses 'ofitheturrets and moved into and out-oflatching position Iebya manually actuable-mechanism. The control is con- "-nected' I directly to "the pin moving "mechanism toap ply added force to the pins to assure settingthereof priorto the-actuation of the clutchre'lease rod.

"Other objects and advantages will be apparent fromthe following detailed description when considered in conjunctionwith' the" accompanying drawing, wherein:

"Fig. 1"is afragmentary side elevationalview of .a turr'et type press embodying the .invention,

iFigZZ is'atr'ont elevational view offtheconveritional "clutch and the trip-rodtherefore forthe press, and

Fig. 3 isla fragmentary sectional view oflthe reciprocable "ram and driving means therefor.

A press is of the commercially known type. havingv a 'reciprocable rarn'll moved'through single cycles. under thecontr'ol of a clutchizactuable. into operative engagefment with the shaftlthrough movement of a pull rodlS. In the press. selected to.-illustratetheinvention afiywheel '3, whichisapart of the-driving means, is mounted for .free rotation on: the crank shaft and is driven? by. a belt'-4 ..conneeted .to a power means (notshown). .The'conventionalsclutch. llincludes members (not-shown) connected ...re$pectivoly to the. flywheel 3 and the crankshaft .14 and norm lly held disconnected by amarm- 5 until. the --arm -.-isactuated.by the pull rod-.15. Fig. 3.i1lustrates the crank shaft connected to. the ramllthrough acr-ank' arm 6.

The. press is, provided withsthe conventional-'lturrets "19 respectively. 'The turretsare-supported at 20"and 21 on aligned-axes for movement oftheir sets of punch and die holders into the operating position in-alignment-with "theram-ll. Tapered latch pins 22 and 23, receivable irr sim'ilarlytapered recesses 24 and 25, are supported=in apertures of the main body of the press and have their innermostends pivotally connected to a yoke 26. Al-

thoughthetapered pins are provided with springs 25' normally urging-them into locking engagement with the tur- =-r'ets,' it has b'een found'that if the'turrets are not moved operatively connected to a manually act-Liable mecha- 'nism incl-uding'alever'30 mounted fixedly on ashaft 33 *which'issupported'in suitable bearings not shown. The

1 lower end ofthe'lever is connected directly or through the 'aid of=a link-32 to the yoke 26. Another lever-33, fixedly mounted-on the shaft 31, is connected by the-aid of a rod'- 34 to-'a member 35 which is rotatably mounted 'on ashaft 36. "It will be noted that the connection 37 between"therod-*34 and the memberSS is eccentric=with respectto'the axis of the shar't'36 so that rocking move- -"ment of the member 35 through the aid of a handle-38hr:- tweenthe dotted line position and the solid 'lineposi'tion Will -cau'se actuation ofthe rod 34, to move the lever 33 .-andt0 rocktheshaft-Sl, to aetuate the remainingportion *ofithe rheChanism;to move thepins toward therecessesof I the turrets.

I The control forthe press includesan arm -fi fixed to vvl thesha'ft 3l a'nd heaving its outer end disposed with --re- "spect to a microswitch 41 while a yoke 42 of apiston rod 43 of an air cylinder44is connected to the element inter- In'ediate its ends. The air cylinder 44ais supported at 45 and has afluid or air line46extending from a main supply-=line*4v7 through a normally closed electromagnetic yak/e 48 to .the top of the cylinder.

Returning to the member 35, it will be noted 'that 't-his m'ernber isasomewhat: in the-form of a circular cam' having-ahigh portion Sit and a low portiorifil the low'port'i'on being in registrationwith a microswitch SZ-Whenthearm 332is1in theldotted.line, normal or-idle position. The :iswitchesr 52 and 41 "and-the electromagnetic valve 48 are :;in aLIcircuitJincluding lead lines 55' and 56. This circuit is so arranged that when the member 35 is actuated "to operate thexmechanism to start "thepins 22 and 23mm selected setrofapertur'es 24 and 25,-the arm'or=ele- .xtment 4l'willmove sufiicientlyabout the axisof the iishaft 31 tozoperateitheswitch 41. Theswitch' 41' having been. closed andthehighportion' 50 of theeIement'SS having closed the microswitch 52, the -valve 43 is-ener- "gizedintoiopenposition, openingthe air line to the top of -the air cylinder 44, thereby adding-greater force through .the arm or element 40 to the latch operating i mechanism to cause the tapered pins, if necessary $10 bring about finalrockingrmovements of the turrets to accurately alignv the chosen set.of punch and dies "with the ram and to drive the latch pinslho'meto. assure against ti possible rocking movement 'of" the turrets i'pr-ior to or during the operating'cycle of'theipress.

The operating means'for the clutch 12 depends for its function on .the completionoflthe latching means for the turrets. .ThepullrodlS for. the cltuch i 2'-is-connected to'a yoke '60 of a piston 'rod 61' of an air cylinder '62, whichis'mountedat 63 on the press. ---An air line 64 extends fromrtheairline-46 at the left of the valve 48-and H of the air cylinder 62. srAlthoughz' suitable :e'xha-usting 3 means for the air cylinders 44 and 62 have not been described, it should be understood that the conventional exhausting means or valves have been provided therefor.

The solenoid valve 65 is disposed in a circuit with a switch 66 which, in the present instance, is of the foot type switch and a timing unit 67, which may be of any desired type such as a time delay relay or any of the commercially known units. Furthermore, it will be noted that this circuit depends on the closing of the switches 41 and 52 and cannot be completed until these switches have been closed. This circuit may be traced from line 55 through switch 52 when closed, switch 41 when closed, switch 66 when closed, through the timing unit 67, the winding of the electromagnetic valve 65, through connection 68 to line 56.

Considering now the function of the control for the press, let it be assumed that the arm 38 for the element 35 is in the dotted line position with the mechanism for the latch pins in a position to hold the pins free of the turrets 16 and 17. At this time, the element 40 has been raised, or moved counterclockwise, free of the switch 41 and it is possible for the operator to move the turrets 16 and 17 to position any desired set of punch and die as accurately as he possibly can, visually in the operating position. The operator then moves the arm 38 from the dotted line position to the solid line position, moving the mechanism connecting the member 35 to the pins 22 and 23, to move the pins toward their turrets. If the recesses are not in general alignment with the pins, the pins will be caused to strike the outer peripheries of their respective turrets, preventing movement of the member 35 sufficiently to complete closing of either switch 52 or 41. However, if the recesses are disposed in general but not perfect alignment with the pins, it is possible for the operator to move the member 35 sufficiently to close the switch 52, moving, at the same time, the element 40 to close the switch 41. When this has been accomplished, the closed switches 52 and 41 will complete a circuit through the electromagnetic valve 48 operating into open position to admit air under pressure to the top of the air cylinder 44 which will supply an added force to the element 40 rocking the shaft 31 to move the lever 30 to force the yoke 26 with the pins 22 and 23 until the pins have been seated in their respective recesses.

If, by chance, the operator should close the switch 66 prior to the completion of the latching means, the unit 67 will provide a sufficient delay in the energization of the valve 65 to allow complete setting of the pins prior to the admission of air under pressure into the air cylinder 62 to actuate the pull rod to release the clutch 12.

With this control, defective parts resulting from inaccurate positioning of the punch and die units in the operating position of the press will be eliminated because accurate alignment and positive holding of the turrets against movement during each operating cycle of the press will be assured.

It is to be understood that the above described arrangements are simply illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. Numerous other arrangements may be readily devised by those skilled in the art which will embody the principles of the invention and fall within the spirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed is: p

l. A control for a press having a crank shaft adapted for connection to a driving means through a normally disengaged one revolution clutch when a rod is actuated to engage the clutch, turrets for sets of punches and dies movable relative to an operating position to selectively locate sets of the punches and dies singly therein where a ram reciprocated by the crank shaft will move the selected punch through an operating cycle, and tapered latch pins receivable in similarly tapered recesses of the turrets and movable into and out of latching positions by an actuable mechanism, the control comprising a unit operable to actuate the clutch rod, auxiliary means operable to cause the mechanism to force the pins into the recesses, means actuable by the mechanism to cause operation of the auxiliary means after said mechanism causes the pins to enter the recesses and actuable means rendered effective after the auxiliary means has been operated to operate the unit.

2. A control for a press having a crank shaft adapted for connection to a driving means through a normally disengaged one revolution clutch when a rod is actuated to engage the clutch, turrets for sets of punches and dies movable relative to an operating position to selectively locate sets of the punches and dies singly therein where a ram reciprocated by the crank shaft will move the selected punch through an operating cycle, and tapered latch pins receivable in similarly tapered recesses of the turrets and movable into and out of latching positions by an actuable mechanism, the control comprising a unit operable to actuate the clutch rod, an element operatively connected to the mechanism and movable thereby during movement of the pins, auxiliary means operatively connected to the element and operable to cause the mechanism to force the pins into the recesses, means actuable by the mechanism to cause operation of the auxiliary means after said mechanism causes the pins to enter the recesses, and actuable means rendered effective after the auxiliary means has been operated to operate the unit.

3. A control for a press having a crank shaft adapted for connection to a driving means through a normally disengaged one revolution clutch when a rod is actuated to engage the clutch, turrets for sets of punches and dies movable relative to an operating position to selectively locate sets of the punches and dies singly therein where a ram reciprocated by the crank shaft will move the selected punch through an operating cycle, and tapered latch pins receivable in similarly tapered recesses of the turrets and movable into and out of latching positions by an actuable mechanism, the control comprising a unit operable to actuate the clutch rod, an element operatively connected to the mechanism and movable thereby during movement of the pins, auxiliary means operatively connected to the element and operable to cause the mechanism to force the pins into the recesses, means energizable to cause operation of the auxiliary means, a first switch actuable into closed position by the element after the pins enter the recesses and included in a circuit with the energizable means, and a second switch in the circuit including the first switch and the energizable means to cause operation of the unit.

4. A control for a press having a crank shaft adapted for connection to a driving means through a normally disengaged one revolution clutch when a rod is actuated to engage the clutch, turrets for sets of punches and dies movable relative to an operating position to selectively locate sets of the punches and dies singly therein where a ram reciprocated by the crank shaft will move the selected punch through an operating cycle, and tapered latch pins receivable in similarly tapered recesses of the turrets and movable into and out of latching positions by an actuable mechanism, the control comprising a unit operable to actuate the clutch rod, an element operatively connected to the mechanism and movable thereby during movement of the pins, auxiliary means operatively connected to the element and operable to cause the mechanism to force the pins into the recesses, means energizable to cause operation of the auxiliary means, a first switch actuable into closed position by the element after the pins enter the recesses and included in a circuit with the energizable means, a second switch in the circuit including the first switch and the energizable means to cause operation of the unit, and a time control unit in the circuit to delay operation of the unit until the auxiliary means has been operated.

5. A control for a press having a crank shaft adapted for connection to a driving means through a normally disengaged one revolution clutch when a rod is actuated to engage the clutch, turrets for sets of punches and dies movable relative to an operating position to selectively locate sets of the punches and dies singly therein Where a ram reciprocated by the crank shaft will move the selected punch through an operating cycle, and tapered latch pins receivable in similarly tapered recesses of the turrets and movable into and out of latching positions by an actuable mechanism, the control comprising a unit operable to actuate the clutch rod, an element operatively con nected to the mechanism and movable thereby during movement of the pins, a first fluid operable unit connected to the element and adapted to force the pins into the recesses, a line for fluid under pressure to the first unit, means normally closing the fluid line encrgizable to open the line to the first unit, a first switch actuable by the element to close a circuit including the energizable means, a second fluid operable unit adapted to actuate the clutch rod, a fluid line to the second unit normally closed by an auxiliary means energizable into open position, and a second switch included in a circuit with the first switch and the auxiliary means to cause operation of the second unit after the first unit has been operated to seat the pins in the recesses.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,363,208 Sulzer Nov. 21, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS 112,554 Australia Feb. 13, 1941 

